The invention relates to a drive arrangement for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, with a drive assembly comprising a crankcase which is closed off on one side by an oil sump, the oil sump and crankcase having a common connecting plane, and the oil sump having an indent protruding into the latter and belonging to a portion of a side wall, said indent being designed for receiving a differential gear, and also having an orifice for an axle shaft projecting out of the differential gear, according to the preamble of claim 1.
The journal mot-SPEZIAL, 1991, page 60, discloses a generic drive arrangement, an axle shaft of a right-hand driven front wheel running transversely through the oil sump and penetrating through a wall of the oil sump on a side opposite the differential gear. This arrangement is complicated, however, since appropriate fittings for sealing off the penetration point of the axle shaft have to be provided at this penetration point.
DE3920638 C2 discloses a drive system for a vehicle, in which the engine output power is transmitted via a clutch, a gear and a cardan shaft to the differential and from this via an intermediate shaft, a cardan joint, a driveshaft and a further cardan joint to a driving wheel located on the other side of the engine with respect to the differential. The output power is also transmitted from the differential via a cardan joint, a driveshaft and a further cardan joint to a driving wheel located on the same side of the engine with respect to the differential. In this case, the intermediate gear shaft runs through both side walls of the crankcase lower part. The intermediate gear shaft is therefore not mounted in the skirt of the cylinder box, so that said shaft can have a compact and simplified design, preferably essentially in the same way as with a cylinder block for an engine without a cylinder block tilt.
DE 4 2 06 068 A1 discloses an engine unit with an engine and a gear, a common oil sump being provided for the engine and the gear on the underside of the engine.
EP 0 189 013 A1 describes a drive arrangement for a tractor, a differential gear of a driven front axle, a clutch of an all-wheel drive and further elements of the front-axle drive being integrated into an oil sump.
The disadvantage of all the above-mentioned systems, however, is that at least one axle shaft extends from the differential gear completely through the oil sump and therefore a corresponding multiplicity of wall perforations have to be provided in the oil sump. The corresponding outlay necessary for sealing off these wall perforations in the oil sump leads to an increased outlay in terms of production and maintenance and to a correspondingly increased cost.
The object on which the present invention is based is, therefore, to provide an improved drive arrangement of the above-mentioned type, the above-mentioned disadvantages being overcome, while the form of construction is even more compact.
This object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of a drive arrangement of the above-mentioned type having the features characterized in claim 1. Advantageous refinements of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.
For this purpose, there is provision, according to the invention, for the oil sump to have an indent protruding into the latter and belonging to a portion of a side wall, said indent being designed for receiving a differential gear and having an orifice for an axle shaft projecting out of the differential gear, a center axis of the orifice running through the crankcase.
The advantage of this is that a compact form of construction is achieved, while at the same time a differential gear axle shaft extending through the orifice into the interior of the oil sump cannot be led out through a side wall of the oil sump, but through the crankcase.
An axle shaft guide closed off relative to the oil sump is achieved in that a guide means aligned with the orifice and surrounding the axle shaft projecting through the orifice is provided in the crankcase.
For a further increase in the construction density of elements of the drive arrangement, a further indentation of a wall portion of the oil sump into the latter is provided in a particularly advantageous way and is designed for at least partially receiving a secondary assembly, in particular an alternator.
In order to arrange the gear near the oil sump closely, compactly and so as to save construction space, an orifice for an output shaft of a gear is provided in the wall of the oil sump, a further indent of the wall of the oil sump being provided, said further indent connecting the orifice to the indent for the differential gear.
In order to receive completely the gear output shaft leading to the differential gear and for enclosing it relative to the interior of the oil sump, the indent connecting the orifice to the indent for the differential gear has a cylindrical design.
In a preferred embodiment, the oil sump has an essentially triangular design in cross section.
Expediently, the center axis of the orifice extends through a part of the crankcase which is designed as a bearing crossmember between the oil sump and the crankcase.